Ha Lu - http://halu.net.au/
Cuisine: Japanese
Address: Shop 4/401 Oxford St, Mt Hawthorn, Western Australia
Ha Lu is in Mount Hawthorn, it isn’t really fine dining in that the restaurant presentation is quite casual but modern with a cafe-like feel. I assume that the choice of dining outside (street side) is because there’s not much space internally.
They explained their menu was something like tapas, each person orders a few dishes to share. The waiter was very helpful, even suggesting we select a few cold dishes so we wouldn’t have to wait too long for food to arrive. Unlike some restaurants I’ve been to, the waiter actually told us the rough number of dishes we would need to order (definitely handy if you’ve never been to the restaurant before).
The Cold Dishes we ordered included: Fresh Springroll, Duck Breast with whole grain Mustard, Home made Tofu & Mizuna Salad with Wonton crisps.
The Springrolls are like salad wrapped in rice paper but a lot more appetizing than in my description. Personally I’m not much of a fan of Duck as I find the meat has a bit of an odour, but for some reason the Ha Lu Chef prepared the Duck so well it could have been mistaken for some other animal, you just have to try it yourself. I’m a big fan of the typical Japanese Salads you find at the fake sushi stalls (the ones run by non-Japanese) so you can only image how much nicer this Tofu Salad was~
Halu’s Fresh Springroll
The Deep Fried Dishes included: Chicken Kara-age with Iwanori Sauce, Vegetable Tempura, Gold Coast Tiger Prawn Tempura, Soft Shell Crab Tempura, Scallop Nanban
Firstly, I’m not a huge fan of deep fried dishes so this whole section may be under-appreciated. The chicken Kara-age was super crisp, and the Iwanori Sauce on top gave it an edge over it’s other dry competitors. The batter on the Tempura is actually tasty and crisp, not too heavy or thick either. There’s nothing too special about the Vegetable & Tiger Prawn Tempura, but the Soft Shell Crab was a bit of a let down. The crab itself was just difficult to eat… it needed to be uber crispy so we could bite through it, instead it’s like you’re chewing on a bit of juicy plastic. The Scallops on the flip side were delicious! It could have been a little more tender, otherwise it’s pretty perfect~
Halu’s Scallop Nanban
Yaki Mono – Grilled Dishes included: Succulent ‘Teriyaki’ Chicken, Duck and Aubergine Madeira Sauce
The Teriyaki Chicken as the BF described “..is the best Teriyaki I’ve had” (and he’s had a lot of teriyaki in his time). I wonder if the Chef changed something in the Teriyaki sauce to make it stand out? The Duck and Aubergine Madeira Sauce again, like the Cold Duck, is just delicious!
Halu’s Duck and Aubergine Madeira Sauce
Ni Mono – Simmered Dishes included: Kingfish Belly Nitsuke
The Kingfish… to be honest I can’t remember if it was the one where they pour the sauce over the pillar of meat. If it is, then I can say that it’s definitely worth ordering and tasting for yourself!
We ordered a a lot more than we probably should have, and it turned out to be quite a filling meal for 4 people. We couldn’t even fit in ice cream! In the end it cost about AUD$50 per person, a bit on the pricey side but I think I would still go back.
The staff is helpful, the food came out promptly, the presentation is beautiful and most importantly the food is scrummy!
